Ember Knights Preview

After posting about Ember Knights, I downloaded the demo and promptly left it to sit in my library for a few days. Unintentional, but that’s the nature of things when you have a couple of games on the go.

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Now that I have played it, I have to say that it’s pretty impressive. The visuals are much better than anticipated, too. The Ember Knights demo certainly has a 16-bit feel to it, but aesthetically, it’s much better than the era and doesn’t feel as much like a retro game as perhaps expected.

When you begin, you have the option to select your secondary power, ranging from fire-based to grenade throwing. You can’t go wrong with fire in a game, so armed with a bit of pyro, entered the first room. Though outdoors, the game treats each area as a room that has to be cleared before moving on.

Ember Knights Preview

Playing on a controller, the controls felt natural, and you’re able to move in eight directions, with an attack, forward roll, your secondary power and a dash that darts you across the screen. For both powers, they don’t operate on a gauge but a cooldown. Fortunately, the secondary power doesn’t take long to replenish.

Some enemies will spawn, while others will mind their own business until you’re in their vicinity. As it’s essential to clear the room, you’re going to have to engage them anyway, but it’s nice not to be bombarded. Ember Knights is hard enough!

As a dungeon crawler, you’ll occasionally get a key drop that unlocks a room with a random treasure. Here you get to pick from two items, but rather than a pat on the head, then on your way, you have to put your new item to use with a wave of attacks.

By far, the worms in Ember Knights that fire poison at you are the worst. Their poison bubbles follow you around and do a bit of damage. Just as you get to a safe place, they burrow from under the ground next to you and do it again.

Taking It Down A Level

Progress a little further, and you’ll reach a purple portal. This looks ominous, and it’s fair to feel dubious about it as it takes you to the next area, dropping further into the depths to fight more enemies with new traits that hit harder. Man, I need a friend to play with.

You will later find a teleport that will return you to your base to swap out your secondary attacks if required, but as you dive deeper, there will be an unmanned shop that will sell you goods – notably health. Be aware that health is relatively scarce in Ember Knights, and even when you find it, it’s quite a measly amount.

What happens when you die? You restart. Aaarrgghh! It’s a rogue-like, but despite Tiny Titans Studios doing everything they can to thwart your progress, you come back for more. Why? Because it’s satisfying gameplay, though, I hope that by the time of launch in September 2021, you’ll be able to keep a few permanent upgrades on death.

This isn’t a thorough review of Ember Knights as it’s based on my experience of the demo so note that the multiplayer wasn’t tested. For the beginning of the game, it became apparent that you could have up to four players, and that is a strength (pending it isn’t friendly-fire), as the game is quite challenging.

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As well as the bosses, there are mini-bosses, too, and if it weren’t for spamming the special attacks when cooled down, I’d be hammering at the attack and roll moves to stay alive. Having someone there to help out would be a huge benefit, but also fun, methinks.

Try Ember Knights demo now!